Senior Public Health Lead - Environmental Determinants

The starting salary for this role is £61,784 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week.

We have a great opportunity to join our Health Improvement team as a Senior Public Health Lead developing Health Equity in All Policies approaches and the healthy places agenda.

We support hybrid working with the right balance. We come together in person for 2 days per week on average (40% of the working week) and support working from home the rest of the time.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Team

The Public Health Team sits in the Adults, Wellbeing and Health Partnerships Directorate, working alongside colleagues from Active Surrey, the Health Determinants Research Collaboration, Adult Social Care and Communities teams. You'll be joining a small, dynamic and friendly team leading on health improvement areas including public mental health, gambling harms and behavioural science, however you will work in partnership with a wide range of public health and other colleagues, including spatial planning professionals, who are working to influence the wider determinants of health.

About the Role

This role supports delivering the Surrey Health & Wellbeing Strategy using evidence-based methods and public health leadership to deliver the healthy place agenda and Health Equity in All Policies (HEiAP) approaches.

You will develop effective partnerships across public health, spatial planning, sustainable development, transport planning and other teams to improve population health outcomes and reduce inequalities, incorporating HEiAP into local prevention programmes, place and neighbourhood approaches and wider strategies to influence the wider determinants of health.

You will provide specialist public health advice throughout spatial planning processes, including district and borough local plans, neighbourhood plans and the Spatial Development Strategy so they reflect population health needs, as well as responding to planning applications and providing advice on major and national infrastructure schemes. The post will contribute to the healthy streets agenda, including design codes, and advise on Health Impact Assessments.

You will build local capacity and knowledge by jointly coordinating the Surrey Health and Planning Forum and its work programme, delivering/commissioning training, fostering research opportunities, contributing to the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and participating in wider networks of professionals with similar roles.

Shortlisting Criteria

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• Educated to MSc Level in Public Health or a related subject
• Proven track record delivering effective public health projects.
• Extensive development of public health partnerships
• Can evidence ability to deliver on public health core skills, such as evaluation, needs assessment and analysis of data.
• UK PHR Practitioner Registration or be working towards it.

To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you answer the following 5 questions (maximum 200 words per question).

• What motivated you to apply for this role and what knowledge, skills and experience do you bring?
• Describe a time when you provided strategic leadership for a health improvement project. What was your approach and what impact did it have?
• Tell us about a time when you successfully built partnerships across sectors to deliver a public health outcome. What challenges did you overcome?
• Can you describe when you have developed public health policies or methods to influence the wider determinants of health.
• Tell us about a situation where you communicated complex public health information clearly to different audiences.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 22/02/2026 with interviews planned for 02/03/2026

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents!

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.